Climate change and air quality

World Innovation: CMA CGM first shipping company to choose liquefied natural gas for its biggest ships

November 7, 2017

Firmly committed to the protection of the environment, CMA CGM becomes the first shipping company in the world to equip its future giant containerships with engines using liquefied natural gas (LNG), a technological innovation for a drastic reduction of pollutant emissions.

As part of its environment policy, CMA CGM has committed to reduce its emissions (CO2, Sox…) in order to limit the impact of its activity on climate change.

“Within only 10 years, CMA CGM divided its CO2 emissions by two per shipped container per km on its owned fleet. ”

In 2005, a container equated to 116g of CO2 emitted per km, but thanks to various measures and technical innovations deployed by CMA CGM, these emission levels are now 60g of CO2 per km on owned vessels.

As for the most efficient ships, such as the CMA CGM BOUGAINVILLE, they show a performance of less than 35g of CO2 performance per km.

In order to reach this 50% CO2 reduction objective, CMA CGM is relying on a modern fleet of giant container ships equipped with efficient technologies as well as experts constantly working on operational excellence, coming up with solutions such as the CMA CGM Fleet Navigation & Support Center or vessel’s speed reduction.

Vessel structure optimization

New bulbous bows improve hydrodynamics

The bulbous bow, located at the front of the vessel, plays an important role in the hull’s hydrodynamics as they strongly reduce the ship’s resistance to waves.

The shape of a bulbous bow is determined by the vessel speed. Today, with the usage of slow steaming, CMA CGM operates its ships at 16-18 knots and has bulbous bows whose shapes match these speeds. New vessels are conceived with that in mind while others are retrofitted to improve their hydrodynamics.

Benefits in terms of energy consumption are substantial (5-10% depending on the vessel). Consequently, CO2 emissions are reduced in similar proportions.

New propellers

Just like bulbous bows, propellers’ efficiency depends on the vessel speed. Consequently, they are optimized by increasing their diameter, by removing a blade, etc.

A twisted leading edge rudder with bulb

A twisted leading edge rudder improves the hydrodynamics of the vessel (optimization of the water flow), and significantly reduces energy expenditures as well as CO2 emissions.

Using large-capacity vessels

By operating giant container ships such as the CMA CGM BOUGAINVILLE, CMA CGM is reducing its impact on climate change through economies of scale.

Using innovative technologies

Engines using liquefied natural gas (LNG)

As of November 7th, 2017, CMA CGM announced that it would equip its future larger vessels with engines using liquefied natural gas (LNG): a real technological breakthrough for the preservation of the environment. Indeed, LNG allows, compared to current ships using heavy fuel oil:

Moreover, the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), which measures a ship’s environmental footprint, indicates that the environmental footprint of vessels using LNG engines is improved by 20% compared to ships only propelled by fuel oil.

Electronic injection engine and exhaust by-pass system

This latest generation of engines considerably reduces consumption of fuel (-3% on average) and for oil (-25%).

The vessel’s design has been specifically adapted for slow-steaming by fitting the main engine with an exhaust by-pass system to improve energy efficiency at low loads, and thereby reducing fuel consumption by around 1.5% at slow speeds.

Cold-ironing, to suppress air emissions in ports

Cold-Ironing or AMP (Alternative Maritime power) is a system allowing vessels to connect to shore electrical power when docking.

The objective is to suppress harmful emissions produced by the ship’s diesel engines. Instead of using the ship’s electrical power supply, a ground source is used to power onboard equipment (lights, reefers, etc.)

Routes and speed optimized by the Fleet Navigation and Support Center

This center helps with the shipping route optimization, advising the right navigation speed, and thus helps reduces CMA CGM vessels’ energy consumption. This navigation center also ensures safety for the crew and the merchandise, which makes it a valuable asset for both the Group and its customers.